Waipā District Council is considering establishing a charitable trust to undertake the re-development of the Cambridge Town Hall; and develop a sustainable business model to manage the Hall in the future.
We thought it would be important to reach out to your directly as you may wish to have a say on this matter. The Cambridge Town Hall has and is still used for key events, but even though it is available to hire, use of the Hall has steadily reduced over the last decade with only 27% of available days
used in the 2018/2019 year. The money received by Council for hireage fees ranges between $25,000 - $35,000 each year, but in the year ending June 2020, the cost to Council to operate the hall was $148,000.
Currently, Waipā District Council manages the Hall and contracts Destination Cambridge to act as a booking agent. Destination Cambridge also leases part of the building for the Cambridge i-SITE. Council is concerned about the deteriorating physical conditionof the Hall and the resources needed to bring it up to standard so it can be better used in the future. A huge amount of work is needed, but
the reality is that it needs a major capital injection that exceeds the $3.8 million set aside in Council’s 2018-28 long term plan.
Beforeour Council makes any funding decisions for the next long term plan (2021-2031), they want to consider how best to manage the Cambridge Town Hall.
Below is a copy of the consultation document which outlines all options Council is considering. Consultation on this issue is now open and more information is available at www.waipadc.govt.nz/our-council/haveyoursay/making-better-use-of-the-cambridge-town-hall.
Submissions can be made in the following ways:
Use the online submission form.
Drop in the form in the back of the Cambridge Town Hall consultation document to Council offices at 101 Bank St, Te Awamutu or 23 Wilson St, Cambridge.
Email submissions to submissions@waipadc.govt.nz (please write ‘Cambridge Town Hall submission’ in the subject line)
Post submissions to Waipa District Council, Attn: Cambridge Town Hall submission, 101 Bank Street (Private Bag 2402), Te Awamutu 3840.
If you make a submission you will have the opportunity to present your views to Council on Tuesday 8 December 2020.
